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SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS
WEEKLY SUPPLEMENT
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE
WASHINGTON, D. C , FEBRUARY 8, 1940
BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN JANUARY
statistics for January reveal some recession from
BUSINESS
the high level attained in December at the top of the
sharp rise which featured the final 4 months of 1939. The flow
of new business, which was below the rate of production, influenced the downward readjustments which occurred in operations
in primary manufacturing industries. Activity was sustained
in plants producing advanced manufactures—mainly producers'
goods—in which lines very substantial unfilled order totals had
been carried over into the new year. Business generally maintained a good margin of gain over the opening month of 1939—
manufacturing output was about one-fifth greater than a year
ago, though well below the December level on a seasonally corrected basis. Freight traffic was up about one-eighth, exports
were much larger, and retail sales recorded a substantial percentage increase.
The high volume of manufacturing output in the latter part
of 1939 resulted in an accretion of inventories planned in the
fall when business expectations were materially raised. As
deliveries were completed against these forward commitments,
inventories increased while new placements dropped to a level
more in line with current requirements. This has been reflected
in an easier tendency of prices which moved lower throughout
I INDEX NUMBERS. AU6. 1939 - 100
«-=«
U 0 )
February the rate was off to about 72 percent. In late August
of 1939 the rate was 63 percent.
This wide swing in the steel industry has not been duplicated
in the durable goods industries generally. For the more advanced
manufactures—machinery, transportation equipment, electrical
equipment, etc.—production was sustained in January. The
aircraft and machine tool industries continued in an exceptionally
favorable position. Automobile manufacturers turned out approximately 450,000 vehicles in January, about the same total
as in December, and the highest January production on record.
Chrysler plants, which had been delayed in getting into volume
production on the 1940 models, contributed substantially to
these results, as the total for other manufacturers declined
slightly. By the end of the month, however, production was
declining as field stocks had been built up to adequate proportions.
Among the nondurable goods industries, a high level of operations was maintained during January. Cotton mills were quite
active and production was well ahead of a year ago. This industry had carried over a considerable volume of unfilled orders
into 1940, despite the high output in the last quarter of 1939.
As the seasonal rise was lacking, the adjusted rate of operations
for this industry was below the approximate record in December.
Silk deliveries, though increasing seasonally as compared with
December, continued relatively low; the total for the month was
one-third less than that in January of last year. Paper and
paperboard mills operated at a moderately reduced pace in January after the record tonnages produced in the latter part of 1939.
Output, however, continued unusually large—one-fifth more than
a year ago.
Bituminous-coal production in January increased considerably
after a slackening in December. Seasonally adjusted output was
up about one-sixth from the preceding month. Crude-petroleum
production in the 4 weeks ended January 27 held around the
large December flow. Petroleum refineries were somewhat more
active than in December and the run of crude oil to stills was 7
percent above that in January 1939.
RETAIL SALES AT HIGH LEVEL
Price indexes of 12 foodstuffs and 16 raw industrial commodities. Source: U. S.
Department of Labor.
the month. " At the same time that manufacturers and wholesalers were adding to their stocks, the volume of inventories in
the hands of retailers apparently .rose very little though they
were higher at the end of 1939 than a year ago. Income payments to Individuals have been affected by the slackening of
activity, but in December the Department's index had advanced
to a point little below the, 1937 peak; in terms of purchasing
power the December figure was higher than any attained in 1937.
The decline in prices of basic industrial raw materials—sensitive to changes in business—was an outward manifestation of
the more cautious purchasing policies that have prevailed lately.
Following the line on the accompanying chart, it may be seen
that about one-third of the September rise in prices of these
industrial commodities was canceled in the recent movement,
which succeeded a sidewise trend throughout the last 3 months
of 1939.
While the aggregate output of the manufacturing industries
was lower than in December, trends among the individual industries were mixed. The decline in the steel industry was a feature
of the month, and this is a heavily-weighted component of industrial production indexes. This industry had produced in record
volume during the final quarter of 1939, turning out 16 million
tons of ingots. With the steel companies working against the
heavy accumulation of orders, ingot output reached a weekly
peak of 94 percent of capacity in the fourth quarter; in early
. 20798X—40
Retail trade in January normally shows a considerable decline
from the December volume, which is the sales peak for the year.
The limited data now available and the flow of income to consumers indicate that January trade, seasonally corrected, was
high though perhaps somewhat under December. The magnitude of the seasonal contraction between the two months makes
an accurate appraisal of the relative position of January difficult
at this time.—, — r ~
—
.
For a nation-wide sample of department stores the sales of the
4 weeks ended January 27 were 4 percent higher than a year ago,
indicating a more-than-usual decline from December. For the
fourth quarter of 1939 the gain over the year earlier figures had
been about 7 percent. Sales in Southern and Southwestern areas
were slowed in the latter part of the month by the uncommonly
severe weather, while in the New York, Chicago, and Cleveland
industrial areas trade showed a considerable increase from the
year earlier volume. Sales of a leading mail-order company were
one-fifth larger than a year ago. Sales of new passenger cars,
though slackening from December, continued to show a substantial gain on the year-to-year basis.
Movement of manufactured goods by the railroads declined
more than seasonally during January. The recession in miscellaneous freight, seasonally corrected, was about 5 percent;
1. c. 1. loadings were slightly lower on an adjusted basis. The
adjusted index of total traffic remained at approximately the
December figure since the large increase in coal shipments offset
other traffic declines.
NOTE.—Publication of the regular weekly charts will be resumed next week. The data to bring the charts up to date are
on page 2.
WEEKLY BUSINESS INDICATORS*
[Weekly average, 1923-25=100]
1940
Commodity prices, wholesale:
Dept. of Labor, 1926=100:
Combined index (813)
Farm products (67)
Food (122)..
Another (624)
Fisher's index, 1926=100:
Combined index (120)
Copper, electrolytic!
Cotton, middling, spot
103. 2103.7105.0 105.9 90.4 92.1 81.3 82.2
116.0116.4
119.4 121.1 97.2 97.9 77.2 78.0
116.
121.1 121.7123.6125.4 101.9103.5 82.3 83.4
79.1
69.2
71.4
84.0
79.3
69.5
71.4
84.1
79.5
69.5
71.8
84.3
79.5
69.6
71.8
84.2
76.6
67.1
71.0
80.4
76.7
67.3
71.2
80.4
80.1
70.9
74.5
83.2
80.3
70.8
74.6
83.5
84.7 85.4 85.4 86.1 86.3 79.8 79.8 82.6 83.1
82.6 85.5 88.4 89.1 89.1 79.7 79.7 71.0 72.5
40.8 40.8 41.9 41.9 42.3 33.1 33.1 31.6 30.9
56.3 48.9
Construction contracts}
76.2
32.0
67.7 67.4 69.6 61.8 60.2 61.6 58.9 57.7
Distribution: Carloadings
Employment: Detroit, factory-..
100.8
106.7
79.8
Finance:
70.0 74.2 70.8 68.1 61.4 78.1 94.6 67.3 82.1
Failures, commercial..
62.7 62.9 1.1 62.6 62.9
66.9 74.5 74.2
Bond yieldst...,
90.5
Stock pricest
—• 109.7110.3 109.8111.7114.0 103.9101.2
1933
Feb. Jan.
Feb. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan, Feb.
27 20 13
Feb. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Feb. Jan. Feb. Jan.
29
28
27
20 13
Business activity:!
New York Times§cf.
Barron'scT
Business Week..
1939
1940
1933
1939
Finance—Continued.
Banking:
Debits, outside N. Y. C.t—Federal Eeserve reporting
member banks:
Loans, total
_.
Interest rates:
Call loanst—
Time loanst
~
Currency in circulation!
Production:
Automobiles
Bituminous coall
Cotton consumption!.
Electric powertLumber
__
Petroleum!
_
Steel ingots®
_
_
Receipts, primary markets:
Cattle and calves
Hogs....
Cotton...
Wheat..
29
93.7 92.2 101.6 95.0 145.0 87.6 83.2 89.0 82.3
68.0
68.3 68.6 69.2 69.4 65.9 66.3 71.9 72.3
24.2 24.2 24.2 24.2 24.2 24.2 24.2 24.2
28.6 28.6 28.6 28.6 28.6 28.6 28.6
152.2 151.7 152.6 153.6 155.8 137.5 136.6 130.3 129.9
24.2
28.6
114.7102.8 116.9 62.6 72.6
102.9 79.0 84.5 75.5 76.3
134.1 109.3 105.2 3.1 80.4
148.4 137.3 137.6 125.0 126.0
41.8 42.7 44.3 34.2 34.1
172.1 165.2 155.9 159.2 161,L2
147.2 90.7 87.9 51.5 55.2
63.6 57.1 58.4 62.8 62.7 67.1
69.1 62.3 36.0 41.6 48.5 59.4
108.1 101.5 43.5 41.9 58.5 99.6
28.0 22.3 38.9 36.1 23.1 31.0
132.7 139.5 142.3 145.9
101.0 97.1 97.9
129.1 129.1
154.0 154.4 155.6
43.5 52.4 49.8
173.4 174.6 172.4
132.8141.2 145.7 147.9
54.0 58.1
62.9 61.6
87.7 78.8 103.1
27.9 24.5 29.3
• D a t a do not cover calendar weeks in all cases.
^Computed normal=100.
JDally average.
tWeekly average, 1928-30=100.
^Seasonally adjusted.
® Index for week ended Feb. 10 is 123.2.
c^For description of these indexes, see p . 4 of the Dec. 16,1937 issue.
WEEKLY BUSINESS STATISTICS •
1940
Feb. 3
COMMODITY PRICES* WHOLESALE
Copper, electrolytic, New Yorkt
_dol. per lb__
Cotton, middling, spot, New York—
do
Food index (Bradstretft)
_
_
do.—
Iron and steel, composite
dol. per ton.
Wheat, No. 2 Hard Winter (Kansas City)..dol. per bu.
FINANCE
Banking:
Debits, New York City
mil. of dol..
Debits, outside New York City (140 cities)
do—
Federal Eeserve banks:
Reserve bank credit, total
do...
U. S. Government securities
.do...
Member bank reserve balances
do
Excess reserves, estimated
do
Federal Reserve reporting member banks:
Deposits, demand, adjusted
_
do
Deposits, time
.
_
.do.
Investments, total!
do
U. S. Government direct obligations
..do
Obligations fully guaranteed by U. S- Government
.*
...mil. of dol—
Loans, total§.:__
do....
Commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans§
mil. of dol..
Interest rates, call loanst
percent.:
Interest rates, time loanst
do.—
Exchange rates:
French franct.--.—cents.*.
Pound sterling!.-.
dollars..
Failures, commercial—
_.
numberCurrency in circulation!mil. of dol~
Security markets':.
• Bond sales (N. Y. S. E.)
thous. of dol. par value..
.Bond yields (Moody**) (120 bonds) \
percent..
Stock sales (2VT. Yt S. E.)
thous. of shares..
. Stock prices (N.- Y. Times)t
dol. per share..
Stock prices (Standard Statistics) (420)
.1926=100..
. Industrials ( 3 5 0 ) - —
.do
. Public utilities (40)
do
, Railroads (30):
..do.
, P R O D U C T I O N , CONSTRUCTION, A N D
DISTRIBUTION
Production:
, Automobilesi
number.:.
Bituminous eoalt
thous. of short tons..
Electric power.
:_„'
. . . . m i l . of kw.-hrs..
, Petroleum!thous. of bbl.i
Steel ingots® .:
pet. of capacity..
Construction-contract awardst
--.. thous. of dol..
Distribution: •
• Freight-car loadings, total
cars—
Coal a n d coke
.....do
Forest products
:
do
Grains and grain p r o d u c t s . . . .
...do
Livestock..
do....
Merchandise, 1. c. 1
_
do
Ore,-.
.„...
__
do..,.
Miscellaneous
do Receipts:
Cattle and calves
thousands..
Hogs
do-_.
Cotton into sight..
_
thous. of bales
Wheat, a t primary m a r k e t s . .
thous. of b u . j
Jan.27
Jan.20
1939
Jan.13
Jan. 6
Dec. 30
Feb. 4
1938
Jan. 28
Feb. 5
1937
Jan. 29
Feb. 6
0.114
.111
2.36
37.07
.95
0.118
.111
2.35
37.09
0.122
.114
2.34
37.07
0.123
.114
2.35
37.09
1.01
0.123
.115
2.34
37.09
1.04
0.123
.116
2.33
37.10
1.01
0.110
.090
2.31
36.35
.70
0.110
.090
2.30
36.35
.72
0.098
.086
2.46
38.94
1.01
0.100
.084
2.47
38.97
1.02
0.128
.132
2.93
36.64
1.36
3,187
4,343
2,942
4,279
3,656
4,711
3,301
4,404
4,133
5,605
3,832
4,629
3,362
4,063
3,064
3,860
3,381
4,132
5,241
4,756
2,603
2,477
12,150
5,559
2,514
2,477
12,148
5,592
2,515
2,477
12,020
5,502
2,504
2,477
11,830
5,377
2,564
2,484
11,721
5,271
2,568
2,489
11,493
5,046
2,582
2,564
9,047
3,478
2,583
2,564
9,166
3,597
2,594
2,564
7,249
1,385
3,053
3,818
2,594
2,564
7,296
1,440
19,199
5,257
14,675
8,877
19,163
5,254
14,647
18,979
5,259
14,633
8,913
18,823
5,274
14,485
8,777
18,566
5,276
14,413
8,703
18,720
5,274
14,562
8,748
16,048
5,183
13,209
8,173
16,152
5,170
13,147
8,186
14,464
5,225
12,253
8,165
14,583
5,213
12,237
8,176
15,493
5,077
13,638
9,149
2,414
8,499
2,412
8,536
2,411
8,579
2,400
8,646
2,412
8,674
2,414
8,758
1,789
8,233
1,733
8,281
1,141
8,981
1,139
1,214
8,941
4,195
1.00
1.25
4,316
LOO
1.25
4,330
1.00
1.25
4,363
1.00
1.25
4,353
1.00
1.25
4,400
1.00
1.25
3,767
1.00
1.25
3,765
1.00
1.25
4,394
1.00
1.25
4,395
1.00
1.25
1.00
1.25
2,258
3,984
285
7,392
2.254
3.978
302
7,368
2.246
3.965
288
7,408
2.242
3.956
.277
7,461
2.232
3.938
250
7,565
2.237
3.950
190
7,644
2.643
4.678
318
6,676
2.641
4.675
385
6,635
3.280
5.011
274
6,329
3.267
•5.001
334
6,306
4.658
4.895
198
6,358
29,040
3.62
2,914
106,55
90.4
105.8
87.3
28.3
3.63
3,128
107.12
91.1
107.3
30,660
3.64
3,377
106.62
90.8
106.4
87.5
28.6
33,990
3.61
4,281
108.50
93.5
109.8
89.0
29.9
30,280
3.63
3,557
110.73
94.8
111.4
89.4
30.7
43,350
3.67
4,742
109.15
91.3
107.4
86.5
28.8
32,650
3.86
4,224
100.88
89.0
105.3
81.8
27.7
38,180
3.86
7,657
98.29
87.4
103.5
80.9
27.0
35,950
4.30
4,374
85.99
78.9
93.0
71.5
27.5
41,640
4.28
5,511
87.85
79.8
93.8
73.6
27.7
72,720
3.71
14,401
138^.77
129.8
151.9
112.9
56.7
106,400
1,720
. 2,566
3,612
82.2
10S, 545
1,653
2,572
3,637
84.8
9,046
111,330
1,668
2,593
3,592
86.1
7,845
87,510
1,753
2,473
3,584
85.7
89,365
1,646
2,404
3,545
73.7
8,470
. 78,410
1,346
2,287
3,442
52.8
89,200
1,439
2,293
3,248
51.2
12,241
47,743
1,285
2,082
3,316
30.5
55,365
1,299
2,099
3,358
32.7
5,144
78,510
1,670
2,201
3,221
79.6
649,488
184,652
27,832
30,395
11,200
143,370
8,840
243,199
645,822
170,910
30,660
28,089
12,484
142,919
10,052
250,708
667,713
177,155
30,102
31.872
14,220
144,110
9,332
260,922
592,392
160,213
26,118
27,043
12,410
123,276
9,281
234,051
550,270
141,797
19,766
26,441
9,959
117,351
8,317
226,639
576,790
140,779
25, 518
29,544
11,371
146,138
9,062
214,358
590,459
144,928
27,917
32,199
12,966
146,436
7,640
218,373
564,740
135,853
26,257
32,282
11,450
148,002
6,447
204,449
5f3,176
135,8^
24,759
31,611
12,890
142,180
6,073
198,910
671,227
167,672
32,595
28,211
10,689
158,258
9,598
264,204
171
184
400
268
2,328
201
449
2S1
2,231
181
' 405
2G4
1,774
. 131
324
274
2,412
1S5
234
113
3,093
198
270
109
2,871
198
315
152
1,838
212
386
259
184
286
136
1,321
101,240
77.3
228
2,219
87.7
29.0
408
205
1,948
;
2,463
2,430
6,758
2,150
®Rate for week onded Feb. 10 is 71.7.
JDaily average.
»Data do not cover calendar weeks in all cases.
§No Jonger strictly comparable; for an explanation, see the corresponding data'on p . 30 of the April 1939 issue of the SURVEY.
ISOURCE: Ward's Automotive Reports,
MONTHLY BUSINESS STATISTICS
Monthly statistics through December 1937. toto the sources of the data, may be found in the
1938 Supplement to the Survey.
1940
1939
anuary January February
March
85.4
72.7
79.2
85.9
86.2
96.8
85.1
72.4
78 4
85.9
86.1
96.7
84.9
72.3
78.0
85.8
86.1
96.7
85.0
72.2
78.2
85.2
86.2
96.7
84.8
72.1
78.1
84.0
86.2
96.6
84.7
72.0
77.9
83.4
86.0
96.6
84.9
71.9
7S. 1
83.8
86.3
96.9
84.5
71.9
76.7
84.0
86.3
96.9
85.9
72.2
80.7
84.4
86.5
97.0
85.8
72.6
80.1
85.2
86.6
96.8
85.7
72.9
79.6
85.6
86.7
96.8
85.3
72.9
78.5
85.6
86.6
96.8
94
97
71
109
76
66
112
96
109
92
91
70
107
78
66
116
108
92
91
88
71
100
81
66
116
114
83
89
87
70
95
82
67
114
102
86
90
85
72
92
85
72
112
110
83
89
83
73
94
93
73
107
105
81
89
89
73
96
80
66
107
101
89
88
90
71
100
70
64
101
101
100
98
102
76
107
73
83
117
114
98
97
108
74
112
73
77
112
128
94
97
117
75
117
66
79
107
130
98
96
97
82
118
65
87
101
96
104
(*0
36.6
36.8
36.9
36.8
36.5
37.1
37.1
37.9
38.2
39.0
39.1
39.1
(a)
4.09
3.19
3.06
2.61
3.34
3.18
••2.93
3.46
3.29
3.48
3.92
3.31
4.16
3.36
5.06
3.01
6.17
2.79
5.89
2.91
4.10
2.95
2.84
3.46
.10
.10
.13
.10
.13
.12
.12
.14
.14
.17
.15
.12
April
May
June
July
August
eptem- October Novem- December
ber
ber
COMMODITY PRICES
Page 11
Cost of living (JV. 7. C. £.):
Combined index
1923=100.
Clothing
do
Food
-do .
Fuel and light
.
do .
Housing
. .
.
do . .
Sundries
.
. . do...
Prices received by farmers (U. S. Department of
Agriculture):
Combined index
1909-14=100,.
Chickens and eggs
do
Cotton and cottonseed
do
Dairy products
do _
Fruits
do
Grains
do -_
Meat animals
do . _
Truck crops
do. „
Miscellaneous
do
fa\
(*)
8
99
91
85
119
66
90
103
117
113
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AND
WAGES
Pages 38,39, 44, 47
Labor conditions:
National Industrial Conference Board (25
industries):
Average weekly hours per worker in factoriesf
--hours..
Labor turn-over in mfg. establishments:
Accession rate-mo, rate per 100 employees..
Separation rate:
Total
~ .do.. _
(°)
(a)
2.65
1.97
1.81
1.58
2.05
2.54
2.46
2.67
2.60
2.23
1.87
2.24
(°)
,69
.83
.93
.82
.73
.76
.64
.82
.85
1.07
.70
• .68
Quit
.
-do
Wagestt
National Industrial Conference Board (25
industries):
28.53
28.24
28.49
27.68
27.29
26.64
26.19 ' 26.67
26.27
26.25
26.11
29.95
Factory average weekly earnings...dollars._
.730
.727
.724
.722
.720
.721
.721
.720
.717
.715
.713
.713
Factory average hourly earnings
do
FINANCE
Pages 54, 62,65, 75,76
Banking:
Federal Reserve banks, condition, end of
month:
Assets (resources), total
.mil. of dol._ 19,223 15,639 15,862 16,186 16,766 16,922 17,172 17,348 17,823 18,602 18,779 18,740 19,027
Reserve bank credit outstanding, total
2,650
2,801
2,879
2,593
2,446
2,486
2,579
2,573
2,695
2,587
2,598
2,607
:
mil. of dol._ 2,503
0
0
0
0
Bills bought
do
6
6
7
5
4
4
8
5
5
3
4
5
7
Bills discounted
do—
2,736
2,804
2,48(4
2,426
2,564
2,564
2,477
United States securities
do—
2,552
2,488
2,551
2,571
2,564
2,574
15,975 12,382 J2,561 12,951 13,476 13,673 13,874 14,230 14,661 15,013 15,178 15.295 15,524
Reserves total
do~13,524 13,878 14,321 14,679 14,838 14,976 15,209
15,561 11,948 12,125 12,553 13,103 13,326
Gold certificates
-do
19,223 15,639 15,862 16,186 16,766 16,922 17,172 17,348 17,823 18,602 18,779 18,740 19,027
I labilities, total
do
Deposits, total
___
d o — 13,422 10,420 10,571 10,919 11,376 11,536 11,701 11,952 12,247 12,953 12,988 12,865 12,941
Member bank reserve balances, total
9,900 10,029 10,018 10,507 10,918 11,655 11,973 11,628 11,653
9,157
8,936
9,215
12,150
mil. of dol.
5,209
5,160
5,553
5,352
4,758
4,553
4,218
4,140
4,098
3,559
3,387
3,644
5,560
Excess reserves (estimated)
do—
Federal Reserve notes in circulation
4,059
4,862
4,773
4,720
4,631
4,511
4,477
4,530
4,458
4,380
4,353
4,339
4,832
mil. of dol_.
86.7
86.3
85.5
85.0
86.9
86.3
85.6
85.4
85.1
84.7
84.2
83.9
87.5
Reserve ratio . .
.percentMonetary statistics:
Foreign exchange rates:
.298
.. .298
.298
.311
.312
.312
.312
.312
.312
.312
.311
(0
.298
Argentina
dol. per paper peso
.166
.165
. 167
. 170
.170
.170
.170
.168 — . 170
.168
.169
. 169
.168
Belgium •
dof. per beltia
.876
.878
.893
.913
.995
.998
.996 • .998
.995
.996
.995
.992
.880
Canada. . . . dol. per Canadian dol.
.022
.022
.023
.023
.026
.026
.026
.026
.026
.026
• .026
.026
.022
France..
dol. per franc
(*)
.401
.401
.395
.399
.401
.401
.401
.401
.401
.401
.401
.401
Germany
dol. per reichsmark
.531
.531
.531
.532
.535
.533
.536
.532
.531
.531
.536
.542
.532
Netherlands
dol. per guilder
.238
.238
.238
.238
.240
.241
.241
.241
.241
.241
'.241
.240
.238
Sweden
dol. per krona
3.930
3.925
4.011
3.995
4.611
4.681
4.681
4.682
4.681
4.685
4.686
4.669
Ujiited Kingdom
dol. per £
3.964
Public finance (Federal):
42,110 39,641 39,864 39,990 40,068 40,286 40,445 40,666 40,896 "40,861 '41,040 41,305 41,942
Debt gross, end of mo
mil of dol
Public issues:
37,346 35.892 35,949 35,994 36,038 36,089 36,122 36,200 36,261 r 36,282 '36,421 36,512 37,214
•' Interest-bearing*
do
497
498
510
516
540
548
554
531
538
543
533
534
^ Non-interest-bearing*
,do...
509
Special issues to gov't agencies and trust
4,231
4,295
4,109
4,063
4,094
3,918
3,770
3,666
3,492
3,382
3,454
3,215
funds*
mil. of dol
4,256
35,788 24,318 22,361 29,266 29,437 25,318 24,517 25,528 27,213 35,595 32,418 29,049 27,814
Receipts, customs
thous of dol
Security markets:
Stocks:
Dividend declarations (N. Y. Tints):
• Total
thous. of dol. 231,651 194,118 303,839 186,095 154,076 377,394 220,175 181,033 310,284 193,698 199,969 659,512 330,592
Industrials and miscellaneous
do... 215,588 181,480 289,412 182,522 147,635 358,417 200,698 167,167 296,168 191,364 192,915 608,149 311,996
7,053 51,362 • 18,596
2,334
19,477 13,866 14,116
3,573
6,440 18,976
16,064 12,638 14,427
Railroads
.
.do...
Prices:
Dow*Jones <fe Co., Inc. (65 stocks):
50.01
51.01
51.80
50.47
46.47
46.82
45.66
44.43
49.72
dol. per share48.68
49.13
42.68
48.99
136.52 139.26 137.88 150.72 152.15 149.98 148.54
145.06 127.73 132.56
147.60 146.87 144.60
Industrials (30 stocks).
do...
25.00
25.68
25.64
24.36
25.68
24.96
23.66
23.05
22.05
24.84
24.94
23.30
25.44
Public utilities (15 stocks)
do...
31.63
33.38
34.27
31.97
27.67
28.29
27.59
27.02
25.75
31.07
30.31
31.20
31.09
Rails (20 stocks)
do...
110.38 110.33 108.59 109.01
99.44
99.74
96.95
94.19
90.46
New York Times (50 stocks)
do... 107.40 102.73 102.22 100.59
191.78 181.82 181.21 178.01 • 161.51 167.73 173.12 178.03 178.21 195.86 194.82 192.28 194.21
Industrials (25 stocks)
do...
23.82
24.90
25.84
24.91
20.68
21.45
20.79
20.67
19.41
23.24
23.64
23.03
23.18
Railroads (25 stocks)
do...
* Revised.
• Data for December are the latest available.
* Quotations not available August 28-October 16.
» Quotation not available September 1 and September 3-November 5,1939. •New series. New items for Federal gross debt beginning June 1916 appear in table 21, p . 16, of the April 1939 SUEVEY.
fRevised series. Data for average weekly hours, weekly and hourly earnings revised beginning 1934. Revisions appear in table % p. 18, of the January 1940 SUBVET.
13
MONTHLY BUSINESS STATISTICS—Continued
Monthly statistics through December 1937, to- 1940
gether with explanatory notes and references
to the sources of the data, may be found in the
1938 Supplement to the Survey.
January January February
1939
March
April
May
June
July
DecemAugust SeptemOctober November
ber
ber
TRANSPORTATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS
Page 85
Class I steam railways:
Freight-carloadings (A. A. R.):l .
Total cars
_
.thousands.
Coal.
_
do.
Coke
do.._
Forest products
.__
-do.__.
Grains and grain products
do
Livestock
__do
Merchandise, 1. c. 1
do._.
Ore
do___
Miscellaneous.
do...
2,555
643
50
115
ir
50
554
38
'2,289
••501
30
'104
129
53
561
33
878
2,297
529
30
99
116
42
577
34
870
2,390
478
29
105
125
42
612
33
967
2,832
350
29
140
159
61
775
58
1,261
2,372
297
19
121
137
49
612
121
1,016
3,149
503
28
151
202
50
744
209
1,261
2,549
429
24
118
200
44
583
167
30,350
27,774
29,032
23,622
22,827
20,745
.140
30,319
.140
27,701
.140
29,417
.140
23,325
.135
22,699
.135
21,111
24,229
17,828
8,180
9,648
6,401
24,415
17,395
7,982
9,413
7,021
31,555
23,003
9,626
13,377
8,551
32,666
23,830
40,138
28,546
9,611
18,935
11,592
10,641
9,654
10,567
9,955
6,899
3,742
5,828
3,826
6,116
4,450
5,562
4,393
9,965
676
9,043
611
9,900
667
14,373
8,827
10,216
5,398
13,085
8,473
1,358
3,040
601
47
142
148
67
616
182
1,236
3,262
671
59
155
171
63
716
55
1,371
27,918
23,676
27,719
25,737
.124
28,105
.123
23,785
.128
27,886
.120
25,587
33,087
23,413
9,309
14,104
9,674
25,515
10,420
15,095
11,445
34,540
24,995
10,976
14,020
9,544
29,396
21,772
10,234
11,538
7,624
25,934
19,333
9,409
9,924
6,602
10,651
11,228
11,116
11,864 '11,659
12,067
7,179
3,472
7,701
3,527
7,997
3,118
8,727
3,138
'8,455
'3,204
8,894
.3,173
9,820
709
9,846
804
10,329
900
10,260
856
10,974
10,736
922
11,151
916
23,333
20,170
17,381
17,042
4,540
11,864
12,759
9,880
12,077
22,655
11,584
31,609
13,135
26,723
15,893
21,923
9,469
5,632
4,756
2,689
476
27
126
170
48
615
192
1,034
3,844
740
45
171
219
90
780
277
1,523
20,114
21,206
.135
19,262
.135
21,608
26,197
9,781
16,416
10,690
29,472
20,769
8,199
12,569
8,703
10,341
10,529
6,176
4,165
6,743
3,786
9,321
634
655
12,562
8,656
3,375
676
46
152
165
84
640
253
CHEMICALS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS
Pages 97, 08
Vegetable oils and products:
Oleomargarine:
Consumption (tax-paid withdrawals)
thous. of lb.
Price, wholesale, standard, uncolored (Chicago)
___
dol. perlb..
Production
thous. of lb.
Paint sales:
Paints, varnish, lacquer, and fillers:
Total
thous. of doL.
Classified, total
do....
Industrial
_
do....
Trade—do.
Unclassified
do.
ELECTRIC POWER
Page 99
Production, totalj
mil. of kw.-hr.,
By source:
Fuel
do___
Water power
do...
By type of producer:
Privately and municipally owned public
utilities
mil. of kw.-hr..
Other producers
do--.
(*)
8
14,360
FOODSTUFFS
Pages 106,10S
Grains and grain products (principal markets):
Corn:
Receipts
.thous. of bu..
Shipments
do....
Oats:
Receipts
do
Wheat:
Receipts...
_:_
_do.__
Shipments
_
do
12,611
8,125
4,326
6,221
4,304
5,769
4,461
6,673
18,625
12,528
6,261
9,391
8,834
11,900
12,758
9,512
9,251
13,748
11,113
16,000
11,174
25,525
16,851
44,016
14,423
99,006
30,840
43,924
22,791
38,995
24,495
19,799
16,856
12,190 r 11,510
14,936 13,086
.9,780
35,573
1,749
4,330
39,100
4,624
4,105
40,035
5,486
4,755
37,788
5,806
5,980
37,224
3,385
5,905
33,715
3,387
4,925
30,039
4,388
5,275
29,615
5,339
6,295
26,338
3,613
5,050
31,168
3,413
6,040
38,206
3,536
7,870
38,035
3,283
11,366
38,280
3,302
42,302 39,450
40,960
36,331 36,291 35,491 34,443
39,607 37,284 43,128 49,928
133,075 135,241 131,782 122,814
42,225
37,729
69,424
95,615
50,117
43,109
73,327
72,405
53,524
46,867
64,407
61,522
57,941
48,159
53,468
65,995
METALS AND MANUFACTURES
Pages 137,138
Nonferrous metals:
Tin:
Deliveries
.___
long tons.
Visible supply, world, end of mo.t-~-do
United States
_...do
Zinc:
Production, slab, at primary smelters
short tons..
Retorts in operation, end of mo., .number.
Shipments, total:
short tons.,
Stocks, refinery, end of mo
do...
57,158
47,287
57,551
65,602
44,277 39,613 45,084 43,036
39,500 39,459 38,251 38,763
42,639 39,828 45,291 40,641
128,407 128,192 127,985 130,380
TEXTILE PRODUCTS
Page 157
Wool: §
Consumption (scoured basis):
Apparel class
___
thous. oflb
Carpet class
.,
do..I
Operations, machinery activity (weekly averLooms:
Woolen and worsted:
Broad.-—
thous. of active hours..
Narrow
...do
Carpet and rug
do
Spinning spindles:
WooJen
.
do
Worsted
_do..~"
Worsted combs
_do
(?)
C)
25,941
9,784
22,449
8,776
21,110
9,856
19,567
8,159
20,244
5,852
23,772
6,291
27,489
7,984
24,707
9,604
25,006
S.847
33,984
11,274
26,436
9,238
22,378
7,665
1,924
79
186
1,942
78
209
75
213
1,338
62
198
1,573
69
175
1,791
73
178
1,7.59
69
155
1,698
82
199
1,549
81
196
1,782
05
221
2,043
101
213
2,044
78
197
73,480
87,770
129
73,130
82,226
137
60,041
77,747
124
55,704
67,613
95
63,24$
79,174
117
72,489
82,819
136
73,739
71,306
132
77,201
77,698
145
81,611
144
81,748 80,173
105,604 103,333
167
157
74, 111
84,395
133
74,103
' Revised.
• Data for December are the latest available.
{Revised series. World visible supply of tin revised beginning January 1935; revisions not shown on p. 50 of the November 1939 Survey will appear in a subsequent issue.
JSee footnote marked ** J" on p. 40 of the January 1940 SURVEY.
IData for April, June, September and December 1939 are for 5 weeks; other months, 4 weeks.
JData for January, April, July, and October 1939 are for 5 weeks; other months, 4 weeks.
@FedFRASER